While pocket watches, car and airplane watches, speedometers, and other precision equipment were produced by Waltham and became closely linked to the company during its early years, the company also produced a multitude of wristwatches in its golden age. This model introduced the patented “up and down” power reserve indicator that would become a staple in later years. The production of this model started in 1870 and would become the most popular railroad watch by being used by companies in 52 countries across 5 continents by 1907. Waltham Vanguard Railroad Waltham Vanguard Pocket Watch / Source: Hess Fine Auctions One of these watches with serial number 67613 was given to American President Abraham Lincoln as a tribute at the time of the Gettysburg Address, which was a defining moment in US history. As its name indicates, it was first made in 1857 and it would be the first industrialized watch in the market.

This pocket watch is the most iconic of all watches ever produced by the Waltham Watch Company in its earliest years. Most Iconic Waltham Vintage Watches Waltham Pocket Watches Waltham Model 1857 Waltham Pocket Watch Model 1857 / Source: CHWatch

In 1981, the Waltham Watch Company would be purchased by Japanese giant Heiwado & co., and become the most popular watch brand in Japan. Apparently, Henry Ford himself visited Waltham for inspiration.īy 1954, more than a century after its birth on American soil, the company expanded by establishing Waltham SA in Switzerland. A high level of production was possible due to Dennison’s innovative use of the assembly line manufacturing process. The company quickly became the world’s leading producer of clocks and watches, employing over 3,000 people and producing more than 40 million timepieces. The History of Waltham: More than 150 Years of Tradition The Industrial and Watchmaking RevolutionsĪaron Dennison, founder of the Waltham Watch CompanyThe company was founded by Aaron Dennison, a watchmaker born in Freeport who had been in the watchmaking business since his 18th birthday.ĭennison would become the father of American mass-production watchmaking when he founded the American Watch Company in 1850, just nine years before it was renamed as the Waltham Watch Company, which is the name that most remember the company as. The Industrial and Watchmaking Revolutions.The History of Waltham: More than 150 Years of Tradition.

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